This invention relates to funnels, and, more particularly, to a combination funnel and siphon.
Funnels have long been used for transferring fluids from one container to another, and have proven to be especially useful in pouring gasoline and other fuels from a hand-holdable vessel into a fuel tank. The most common usages include those of pouring gasoline from a gas can into the gas tank of a car, lawnmower, snowmobile, etc. The difficulty here is that there is no way of telling when the tank is filled, with the result that gasoline overflows into the funnel and is wasted. Obviously, such overflow can also result in splashing of fuel onto the funnel's user.
Devices to prevent overflow and splashing of fuel have primarily been constructed of a funnel shape, with modifications being made as to the width of funnel mouth, the length and angle of funnel neck, and so forth. A few earlier attempts were made to combine a funnel and siphon, as disclosed principally by Erickson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,810,822 and Rovano, U.S. Pat. No. 1,705,312, but such devices have not proven to be practical. That is, they have failed to provide funnels which can be easily and quickly secured in full sealing relationship to the neck of gas tanks, and which at the same time have accessible tubing for siphoning off of gas after overflow into the funnel portion. Other earlier patents illustrating the state of the art in funnel design are Hilford, U.S. Pat. No. 1,676,986, and Eves, U.S. Pat. No. 1,820,610.